As some of you are aware, we are in the process of building a new website for the Royal Opera House. We will be improving customers’ experience of booking tickets online and making it easier to find information on the website.

The process of upgrading and testing our ticketing system is complicated and finding a time to do it was always going to be a challenge. We have decided to go ahead between booking periods and over a weekend as these are quieter for the box office. In reality there is never a good time to do work of this sort, but we need to be ready well before we launch the new website.

Our current website struggles to meet the needs of the increasingly large numbers who visit us each month. Part of the process described by our Chief Technology Officer Rob Greig, in the first of a series of blog posts, is to upgrade our system for booking tickets. The software that we use is called Tessitura, and is used by arts organisations including the Metropolitan Opera and the Royal Albert Hall. This weekend’s work is essential for the new website but all of these changes are behind the scenes, rather than to anything you will be able to see when we reopen booking on Monday.

Over the weekend you can still see some information about productions in the Discover section of the website, or on the 2011 / 12 Season Guide, but the production pages will not be visible. Phone lines and booking in person will also be closed until Monday afternoon.

Thank you for bearing with us during these changes. We hope that the short-term frustrations will be outweighed by the improvements you will see when the site relaunches later in the year.